IRVINE, Calif. -Â For the first time since 2006, UC San Diego women's water polo defeated Big West opponent UC Irvine Friday.
With a final score of 6-5 in Irvine, the Tritons snapped a 25-game losing streak against the Anteaters.
Additionally, the win extended UC San Diego's current win streak to four.
UC San Diego, ranked 13th nationally, moved to 11-8 overall and 2-0 in Big West action. UCI dropped to 10-9 and 0-1. The Tritons are the lone Big West team to have two wins thus far.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With the score tied 4-4 late in the third period, UC San Diego netted consecutive power play goals to go up 6-4. The first came from
Lucia Doak with 1:28 remaining in the third. The second was courtesy of
Annika Arroyo at the 4:15 mark of the fourth and it stood as the game-winner.
UC Irvine scored a power play goal with 1:42 left in regulation, but that would be the final goal of the night.
UC San Diego's six goals came from five different players.
Sofia Munatones netted a pair, while Arroyo,
Caroline Christl, Doak, and
Kendall Thomas all scored single goals. Arroyo and Doak each assisted on a goal and Munatones had two steals.
Courtney Okumura finished with two steals and an assist.
In just her third game back after an injury sustained in early February, goalie
Lexi Stahl made 11 saves for the Tritons. She also had two steals.
Jensine Bugelli scored twice for the Anteaters. Faith Tedesco made five saves and had two steals.
UC San Diego scored the game's first two goals in the opening 1:33. UC Irvine got on the board with a Lauren Hett goal with 1:21 left in the first stanza.
The lone goal of the second quarter belonged to the Anteaters. Bugelli's goal at 2:34 made it 2-2 heading into halftime.
Brooke Hourigan scored just over a minute into the third to give UC Irvine its only lead of the game at 3-2. However, Munatones and Christl went back-to-back to put the Tritons back in front, 4-3. UCI's Gracie Helberg scored on a power play at 2:40 of the third to knot it again at 4-4.
UC San Diego went 4-for-6 on the power play while UC Irvine was just 2-for-9. The Anteaters held a 31-20 advantage in shots.
WHAT HEAD COACH BRAD KREUTZKAMP HAD TO SAY
"I could not be more proud of this team. We worked hard all week long to prepare for a very, very good UCI team. Their defense has always been stellar and tonight was no exception. So much credit goes to
Lexi Stahl in the cage as she was in the zone and came up huge for us. It was a great team win and I can't wait to keep this rolling all weekend long."
TRITON TIDBITS
• The Tritons' last win against the Anteaters came on Feb. 12 of 2006. The score of that game was also 6-5.
• It was the first win against UCI for UC San Diego head coach
Brad Kreutzkamp, who's been at the helm since 2010.
• It was
Lexi Stahl's third game this season with a double-digit save total.
• The last time Stahl played a full 32 minutes was Feb. 2.
•
Caroline Christl,
Sofia Munatones, and
Kendall Thomas extended their goal scoring streaks to five games.
•
Annika Arroyo has collected 14 points (5 goals, 9 assists) over her last five outings.
• UCI's Jensine Bugelli has two brothers, Finn and Rhys, that currently play on UC San Diego's men's water polo team.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego plays four non-conference games over the next two days at San Diego State's Aztec Invitational. Saturday, the Tritons take on Concordia (11:30 a.m.) and No. 17 San Jose State (5:20 p.m.). Sunday, they play La Salle (11 a.m.) as well as No. 8 Princeton (2:45 p.m.).
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 84 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 91 percent, one of the highest rates among institutions at all divisions.
